You Scared the Hell Out of Me
by ironheartwriter
Summary: Jane doesn't take well to an ill-timed joke. An alternate version of the events in Persecute Envoys (1x08) following the stun grenade going off in the Schultz residence.
**AN:** _My first attempt at a Blindspot fic. I got this idea last night, so I just had to write it out. This is pretty much an alternate version of what I could have seen happening in 1x08 when the stun grenade went off. Please be gentle to my first Blindspot fic._

* * *

Two gunshots, that's all Jane heard. Outside the Schultz house, her gun pointed at Officer Costello, Jane's heart jolted as she heard those shots. _No, no, no… not Kurt. Please, not Kurt._

Jane knelt down and pulled Costello's handcuffs off of her belt. With an injured leg, Costello wasn't going anywhere, but the handcuffs were an added precaution. She wrestled with herself for a moment. She couldn't risk letting Costello go anywhere, but she had to know what had happened in that house. She needed to know that Kurt was okay. That he hadn't been….

She grabbed her phone, a device she still wasn't completely familiar with. Where were they again? What street? Kurt had been driving. What the hell had the address been?

 _Come on, Jane. Focus._

Jane shook her head. What had felt like several long minutes was probably only a few seconds, but her mind clicked back into gear as she looked at Jenny Schultz, "What's your address?"

Jenny told her as she dialed 911. Someone in that house was dead, Jane was sure of it. There had been no movement or sounds from the house since those two gunshots. Either Officer Johnson was dead and Kurt was disabled, or Kurt was dead and Officer Johnson was barricading himself in the house. Either way, Jane knew she needed help. Within minutes she heard the sirens and she couldn't stop herself from running to the front door any longer.

She opened the door a crack at first, gun held ready. Jane glanced around, tendrils of smoke curling in the entrance. She saw his feet and heard a soft groan. Relief flooded through her, if only for a moment, "Weller," She sighed, sliding into the house carefully as to not make the front door swing into Kurt. She looked over towards the kitchen, noticing the body of Officer Johnson on the floor and she put her gun down, kneeling by the curled up form of Kurt.

"Hey," She said, putting her hand on his arm. He looked up at her, his hands over his ears. Jane could swear she saw fear in his eyes for a moment, "It's me. It's just me, Weller…."

Kurt shook his head at her, "I CAN'T HEAR YOU."

Jane blinked. What had she really expected? She knew firsthand the effects of being near one of those stun grenades could have from the night at St. Joseph's Hospital. But Kurt had been less than a foot from the grenade when it went off. Was he going to be permanently impaired?

"WHERE'S COSTELLO?"

Jane gave him a look. Did he really expect an answer when he couldn't hear her? She wasn't too sure about his lip reading ability either.

"IS SHE DEAD?"

Jane shook her head. There we go. Yes or no questions. Those were easy enough to answer. She could hear the paramedics outside and someone talking to Jenny Schultz. She would be okay, just emotional trauma. Costello would get what was coming to her, Jane hoped. But for the moment, her main concern was getting Kurt help. Before she could stand up to go get a paramedic though, Kurt yelled another question at her.

"INJURED?"

Jane nodded and pointed at her leg, "YOU SHOT HER IN THE LEG."

Another nod as the paramedics entered the house. She was banged by the door as they unceremoniously threw it open, "Ouch…."

"Sorry, ma'am," The offending paramedic said, though Jane wasn't sure he could sound less apologetic. "What happened in here?"

"This is Special Agent Kurt Weller with the FBI," Jane said, standing as Kurt forced himself to sit up, "We were here following up on a lead for a case we're working. We entered the house and a firefight started. I managed to get the resident, Jenny Schultz, out of here, but before Agent Weller could get out, Officer Johnson over there," She indicated the body on the floor, "Threw a stun grenade at all of us. Agent Weller closed the door between himself and the resident and me and got the full blast of it. He was probably all of a foot away from it when it went off, if that much."

"Got it," The paramedic said, "Are you with the FBI as well?"

"I'm… consulting on the case," Jane said, unsure of how else to put it.

"The officers outside are going to want to speak with you. I can take Agent Weller from here."

Jane understood herself to be dismissed. She wasn't happy about it, but she wasn't about to fight it either. It was probably better that she was out of the way for them to work. She'd likely be hovering as they checked Kurt out. She only hoped that his hearing would come back. She was sure at one time she probably had a better understanding of how stun grenades worked, but for the time being all that knowledge was gone. She stepped back as two of the paramedics helped Kurt up and she stepped outside as they started to get vitals from him.

Kurt was alive. That was what was most important, right? And she was fairly certain he wouldn't be permanently affected by being that close, but she couldn't be certain. She leaned against the porch as her phone rang. Patterson's name popped up on her screen and she slid a finger across the screen to answer the call.

Patterson began rattling off information the moment she said hello, but Jane was only half listening. She responded with a noncommittal 'uh-huh,' whenever Patterson paused. Then there was silence for a long moment.

"Jane, are you okay?" Patterson's tone shifted to a much less business-like tone to one of concern.

"I'm fine," Jane responded almost instantly. She didn't feel fine, but it was easier than trying to explain what was going on in her mind; what she was really thinking and feeling "I'm fine…."

"Are you sure?" Patterson asked. Jane could almost see Patterson's crystalline eyes filling with concern, as though she were standing right in front of her. "You can talk to me, you know that right?"

"I know," Jane said, her throat tightening slightly. Kurt was fine. Well, maybe not fine, but he was alive. Why was she getting emotional about this? "It's just… Weller. He… he was really close to a stun grenade that went off in the house. He's getting checked out by the paramedics now, but he couldn't hear me when I spoke to him…." Her voice trailed off and she pinched the bridge of her nose. Though, if anyone would know the effects of a stun grenade, surely Patterson would. She seemed to know everything, "I know the effects are usually temporary, but could being that close to it cause him permanent damage?"

"Um," Patterson hesitated. "Stun grenades usually _don't_ cause permanent damage. That's not their purpose. Usually they're just meant to impair vision, hearing, and balance temporarily. He _should_ be fine, even if he was right next to it when it went off. At most it could cause a concussion, but that's usually the worst of it."

Jane nodded, despite the fact that she was talking to Patterson on the phone, "I just hope that's the case."

Jane hung up with Patterson and was suddenly surrounded by two local officers who wanted to make a report of what had happened. Jane sighed impatiently, wanting only to go back in the house and check on Kurt. She stood her ground though and gave her statement to the two officers who seemed to repeat the same question over and over again. The officers exchanged a look when she told them her name. Jane Doe wasn't a name that any officer seemed to take seriously, but she wasn't comfortable calling herself Taylor Shaw either. When finally the two seemed satisfied, Jane pushed past them before they could think up any other questions. She was ready to tell those two officers what they could do with their questions if they tried to make her stay outside any longer.

Inside the house, the smoke had cleared. Jane walked to Kurt just as the paramedic was finishing with him. He definitely appeared to be in better shape than he had been when she'd left him a few minutes earlier.

"How are your ears?" Jane asked as she stood in front of him. Kurt looked at her and she felt the concern flood her body again.

"WHAT?"

 _Oh, my god_ , Jane's heart jolted and her eyes widened as she stepped closer. She reached out, looking him over, one hand on his chin, the other on his right cheek near his ear. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't possible. Patterson had assured her that permanent damage was highly unlikely. Had they all been wrong? What would it mean for Kurt if he couldn't hear permanently? Jane felt Kurt's fingers on her arm and her eyes just kept going back and forth over him.

"THE PARAMEDICS SAID… that I'm fine."

Jane blinked, a soft sound escaping her as Kurt chuckled. He was fine. Kurt was fine. He was fine….

 _SLAP!_

Jane wasn't sure where it came from, but quick as the flash from the grenade, she hit him across the face. The sound of the impact seemed to shock both her and Kurt, but Jane didn't care. She was suddenly so _angry_ at him. In the span of about an hour she had thought that he might be dead, then that he might have been permanently hearing impaired, and he was sitting here _joking_ with her? _Now_ he decided to grow a sense of humor. Was he for real?

Before she could think about hitting Kurt again, Jane turned from him and headed for the door. She needed air or she _was_ going to hit him again. She inhaled slowly, deeply, once she was on the porch again, looking out at the street. The cool air felt good in her lungs, a relief of sorts. Her emotions had been a literal roller coaster over the last hour. She just needed to clear her head. All too soon for her liking, though, she heard Kurt's footsteps behind her. She rubbed her now sore hand, bracing herself for what was to come.

"I deserved that," Kurt said. Jane had half been expecting a reprimand, but she was happy that he could at least admit that he had been somewhat wrong. Jane would _love_ to see Kurt have a sense of humor more often, but it had just been the completely _wrong_ moment in her mind. "I'm sorry. I know you were worried that something had really happened to me in there. It was the wrong moment for me to make that joke."

"It's fine," Jane said, massaging her aching hand with the other. She turned to look at him. She suddenly felt very small as she cleared her throat, "It's just… You scared the hell out of me. When the door closed and I heard those shots, I thought he might have…." Her voice trailed off again as she looked up into his eyes.

"Jane," Kurt shook his head, his hand on her arm. The contact felt good. It always did. There was just something about it that always made her calm; that helped her center herself, "He didn't. I'm fine, okay?"

Jane sighed and nodded as she looked up at him, her eyes mirroring her concern, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have slapped you."

"I really did deserve it," Kurt said, something of a smile appearing on his face. "I should have known better than to make a joke like that with everything going on. I really wasn't expecting you to hit me, though. Now I know better."

Jane smiled back. They were going to be fine. They had a momentary emotional high, but as always, they pushed past it. They made too good of a team to stay angry for long. There wasn't a point. Not when there was work to be done, and it was clear their day was far from over.


End file.
